Day 11.Ventoux

A start in the cool and shade of the morning. An 8 mile ride to the start of the climb, stopping at Malaucene to buy a souvenir cycle top. I can't back down now!
Start the ride in the company of the Canadians, but eventually strike out alone. The climb is bit of a slog. Some steep straight sections in the heat of the sun. Fortunately Isabelle and Rob provide some welcome shady waystations where I could cool down and refuel. Much of the road is bordered by trees, so there is nothing much on the way of scenery until you reach the last section.
The lol support van heading to the summit. 

The final hairpins 

A roadside photographer took this action shot! 

The obligatory cold summit shot! 

The gradient map 

The way down 

A bleak landscape. 

Tour de France graffiti 

Back in the vegetation
Cooling down with a beer! 

Evening light from my room

The stats. 

Comments

  1. Mandy Hewett26 May 2026 at 23:31

    Some of that arid landscape is scarily dry. But your home for the night looks wonderful

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike27 May 2026 at 13:06

      It's the mount ventoux rain shadow. Quite a cool temperature compared with the lower slopes!

      Delete
  2. Judi27 May 2026 at 01:19

    Wow! I wasn’t expecting to see snow. I’m having a fantastic French holiday reading your blog and the best bit is I’m not even slightly out of breath lol.. carry on climbing! It looks a fabulous trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike27 May 2026 at 13:02

      Ah, but It's not snow, just bleached white limestone. The Lee side of Ventoux gets very little rain, so nothing really grows!

      Delete
  3. Tauranga Haxells27 May 2026 at 02:46

    Well done Mike…very impressive.Cycling round Kettering will never be quite the same :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Graham27 May 2026 at 07:25

    Climbing Mont Ventoux was a tremendous achievement. That must have been one of the most satisfying beers you have ever had at the end.

    ReplyDelete

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